India saw a massive number of cyber security issues last year. About 39,730 such incidents till October 2016 was recorded by one of the studies.

There has been a surge in the number of cyber security incidents in the country with 39,730 such incidents till October 2016, a study by an industry chamber said on Wednesday.

The Assocham-PwC joint study said such incidents are seeing a rise in India, with a total of 39,730 incidents reported in the first 10 months last year, as against 44,679 and 49,455 observed during the years 2014 and 2015 respectively.

The study noted that with more time to detect and respond to these attacks, the return on investments for cyberattacks is greater in emerging markets like India as compared to developed markets like the US.

According to the study titled 'Securing the cashless economy', this aspect assumes significance since demonetisation has given an impetus to e-wallet services, encouraging digital payments for use of various services.

"As the country is experiencing a digital revolution, the impact of this transformation makes it imperative for financial service players to revisit their cyber security resilience," it said.

The study pointed out that the number of incidents occurring in banking systems have increased in the last five years.

"In the month of October 2016, an ATM card hack hit Indian banks, affecting around 3.2 million debit cards.

"Hence, efforts are needed to enhance cyber security as businesses and citizens embrace this new digital wave," it said.